The D.C. Defenders (4-1) visited Choctaw Stadium on Sunday afternoon against the Arlington Renegades (3-2) in battle for sole possession of first place in the XFL Conference.
In the first quarter, Arlington quarterback Luis Perez threw a 63-yard touchdown to Deontay Burnett, who made a nice one-handed catch. The Renegades succeed to get the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 13:12 left. Later in the first quarter, Arlington kicker Lucas Havrisik made a 39-yard field goal extending their lead to 11-0 with 5:39 left. The Renegades led the Defenders 11-0 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu threw a 37-yard touchdown to Cornell Powell. They were unable to get the two-point conversion and trailed the Renegades 11-6 with 13:44 left. Arlington responded on their next drive which resulted in running back Kallen Ballage rushing to his right side on his way to scoring a 24-yard touchdown.
On the two-point conversion, quarterback Luis Perez found tight end Sal Cannella, who made the catch and the Renegades took a commanding 19-6 lead with 10:34 left.
Later in the second quarter, D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu threw a short pass to Braylon Sanders for a four-yard touchdown. They did not get the two-point conversion and trailed the Renegades 19-12 with 5:36 left before halftime.
Late in the second quarter, Arlington running back De’Veon Smith scored a two-yard touchdown plus the two-point conversion was good for a 27-12 lead. On the final play of the first half, D.C. kicker Matthew McCrane made a 20-yard field goal and the Renegades led the Defenders 27-15 at halftime.
In the third quarter, D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu threw a short pass to Chris Rowland. Rowland had blockers in front of him on his way to scoring a 17-yard touchdown. D.C. successfully made a one-point conversion and trailed the Renegades 27-22 with 11:44 left.
With 2:10 left of the third quarter, Arlington kicker Lucas Havrisik made a 42-yard field goal for a 30-22 lead. The Renegades headed into the fourth quarter up 30-22.
In the fourth quarter, Arlington kicker Lucas Havrisik made a 47-yard field goal for a 33-22 lead with 12:35 left. Later, D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu rushed up the middle to score a two-yard touchdown. They also succeeded in making the two-point conversion and it was now 33-30 Arlington with 7:05 left of the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, D.C. completed the comeback when Deon Jackson rushed up the middle for a two-yard touchdown plus the one-point conversion made it 37-33 with 57 seconds left. Arlington was driving down the field until quarterback Luis Perez’s pass was intercepted near the endzone by Josh Proctor and the game was over.
The D.C. Defenders defeated the Arlington Renegades by the final score of 37-33 to move into first place in the XFL Conference. Arlington are now tied with the St. Louis Battlehawks for second place.
D.C. had 389 yards of offense led by quarterback Jordan Ta’amu completing 23 of 46 passes (50%) for 308 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He also led the rushers with eight carries for 37 yards and one touchdown. Running back Deon Jackson had six carries for 32 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Cornell Powell led the receivers making four catches for 89 yards, and one touchdown, while Braylon Sanders made three catches for 81 yards, and one touchdown, and Chris Rowland made seven catches for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Kicker Matthew McCrane made 1 of 2 field goals (50%) with a long of 20 yards. The defense made 59 tackles, four tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, six pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Arlington had 358 yards of offense led by quarterback Luis Perez completing 23 of 33 passes (69.7%) for 268 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and one carry for ten yards. Running back Kalen Ballage led the rushers with 10 carries for 79 yards, and one touchdown, while De’Veon Smith had one carry for two yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Deontay Burnett led the receivers making three catches for 78 yards, and one touchdown, while Isaiah Winstead made three catches for 67 yards. Kicker Lucas Havrisik made three field goals with a long of 47 yards. The defense made 50 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, five pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Next week, the Arlington Renegades visit the St. Louis Battlehawks on Friday at 8 pm on Fox, and the D.C. Defenders visit the Michigan Panthers on Sunday at noon on ESPN 2. Purchase UFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
